The Breathless Beauty of Isla Taquile, Peru

August 2011

The rocky island of Taquile (not to be confused with the Mexican drink tequila) on Lake Titicaca took my breath away-- literally and figuratively.  Arriving mid-morning after our overnight on Isla Amantani, we docked on the shore at the start of a switchback trail that rose steeply to the top of the island.  Teddie and Dale decided not to attempt the climb up and then the descent down the rocky steps.  They stayed on the boat, as it was to pick us up at the other side of the island in a couple of hours.  We were told there was a cantina with snacks and a waiting area where we would meet. So, once we committed to the climb, there was no way back except to cross the island.  It's a small island (6 km long and 1km wide), but the challenge is in the vertical climb.

Living at sea level, I had chosen to  take my altitude sickness pills (Diamox) and had been staying at high altitudes for over a week, but I quickly found myself huffing and puffing as I started the path to the top of Taquile.  I frequently had to stop for deep breaths and used my raised arm "flapping" exercise to deepen my breaths  and  regain a good breathing pace.  I fell behind the rest of the group and appreciated it when my friends waited and took my slower pace as I moved up the mountain.  However, that did give us the chance to stop to enjoy the magnificent sights of the crystal blue sea and the terraced island.

A characteristic of the island was the arches we saw with three terra cotta heads of men in their broad-brimmed hats.  I never found out its meaning. We were told the rest of the group would meet us at the arch, as they were doing a side trip.  We stayed a few minutes at the first arch, and Jan talked in Spanish with the young girl sitting alone on the hillside, spinning wool and selling family-made knit items to tourists who might come along.  I bought a couple of animal finger puppets that she had made.  The girl spoke Spanish, although the native language of the island is still Quechua.


Realizing this was probably not our meeting place, we started the hike again to the top.  Many of the houses we passed had solar panels to generate some electricity.  We were met on the path (obviously the major thoroughfare) by colorful locals herding horned cows and festive sheep.  Like Amantani, there were no paved roads, cars, or other motorized vehicles.

It was at the third arch leading to the main plaza where we finally did find members of our group.  We had reached a height of 4,033 meters  or 13,231 ft. above sea level.  The square was quite empty around noon on this Sunday.  Somehow, it reminded me of the Bolivian scenes from the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" even though none of that was filmed by a lake.  Perhaps my mind went there because I could see the misty blue mountains of Bolivia (where they were killed) across Lake Titicaca.  I half-expected some cowboy gun fight to spill out of one of the adobe buildings around the plaza, but it remained quiet, peaceful, and beautiful.

Like Isla Amantani, Taquile  doesn't have hotels, although arrangements can be made to stay with families.  Likewise, arrangements are made with families to provide lunches with typical foods to the groups that come.  We did find a "My House" restaurant near the plaza where we could use the "flush" toilets.  Flushing was accomplished by pouring a bucket of water you carried into the bathroom into the toilet once you were finished.  It worked.

We went with our boat group to our host's house where we sat outside at long tables with a great view.  Our guide then explained the symbolism of hats on the island.  I think the young, unmarried men wear a red  knit cap with a white tassel;  married men have a colored cap with a multi-colored tassel; and the more prominent men add a felt hat on top.  It certainly removes any ambiguity in relationships--although the island is so small, I would think everyone already knows. The rest of the group stayed for lunch, while the three of us started the descent to take some rolls and a little food we had purchased in the plaza to Dale and Teddie.

To get down the mountain on this side of the island, you have to walk down 530+ uneven, rocky steps to the dock below.  There is no railing and rarely a wall or support.  I was ok breathing, so the other two went on ahead with the food.  However, I only walked down about 527+ steps, as I tripped on one, then fell forward down several.   I sat on a step to assess the damage for a few minutes.  My hands and knees were scraped and bruised, and I could tell one knee was bleeding.  Of more concern, I had twisted an ankle.  Fortunately, I had worn short hiking boots or the damage would have been worse, and I did not break my new camera!!!  However, I stared down at the remaining 200+ stairs and wondered if I would have to stay on this island forever.

With stinging hands, a bloodied knee, and a tender ankle, I very slowly and carefully hobbled down the rocky steps.  Whenever I reached a place where I didn't see how I could get down without putting too much weight on my sore ankle (and risk more injury), someone would be coming up or down who kindly offered to help me.  It seemed like I was on those steps forever.  The group that had stayed for lunch were coming down as I finally reached the shore.  Unfortunately,  the cantina at the bottom had been closed, and those of us who hadn't been to lunch had only a few remaining snacks to share.

I got my knee bandaged and kept my swollen ankle elevated as we again crossed the beautiful waters of Lake Titicaca to return to Puno, tired and hungry.   I wrapped my ankle and walked (my hunger was more intense than my pain) a few blocks from our hotel to the main Plaza de Armas.  It was dusk and turning cold, so we just admired the  1757 Cathedral San Carlos Borromeo  from a distance and hurried on to find a welcoming restaurant with brick oven pizza.  We heard a band coming towards the main square, so waited for it.  It appeared to be in support of veterans or in protest of something--we couldn't figure out the purpose of their march.  It went around the near-empty plaza  and left, but then came back down the street and did the same thing two more times during dinner.   I  chose a tasty chicken dinner,  but there was confusion as two of us ordered the same thing and only one dinner was delivered.  But my dinner was worth the extra wait, and I ended it with a cup of delicious, rich, hot chocolate--which, of course, makes any day turn out right.

It was another early morning departure to take us to the airport in the nearby industrial city of Juliaca.  I must admit I had not seen a worse traffic situation since Urumqi, China.  The drivers actually had to be pretty skilled, because there appeared to be no lanes or traffic regulation.  Vehicles simply moved to the nearest empty spot as they worked their way toward their destination.  See if you can figure out which lane we were in!  Amazingly, we made it to the airport and enjoyed our Peru Air flight past the snow-capped volcanoes and deep Colca Canyons with a landing in Arequipa on our way back to Lima.  I wish we had had time to visit Arequipa and search for the Andean condor over the canyons, but we had to return to Lima to start our journey to the Paracas Desert on the southern coast.

Click link below for slideshow:
Isla Taquile

Music:  Allpa, Wanakauri, Machu Pichu
Further Information:  The Essential Book:  Discovering Peru

Festival Night on Isla Amantani, Lake Titicaca, Peru

August 2011

After our morning visit to the floating Uros Islands on Lake Titicaca, our motorized boat headed to the solid, rocky Isla Amantani.  Amantani is the larger of the 40-some islands of Lake Titicaca and is intertwined with the history of the Inca Empire.   Although the nearby Bolivian islands of the Sun and Moon were considered the sacred birthplace of the Inca race, two of the great Inca Emperors, Pachama and Pachatata, built temples on Amantani.  In the days of Pachatata, it was also used as a prison island because of its isolation. The Spaniards conquered it, and their descendants retained tight control over the inhabitants even after Peru became politically independent.  It wasn't until a bloody rebellion that the indigenous people could create  their current peaceful, communal way of life.  I read there are about 800 families or almost 4,000 people living on the island.

Isla Amntani is about 4 hours by boat from Puno or 2 hours from the Uros Islands over brilliant blue waters, dotted with steep, terraced islands.  When we arrived at Amantani, we were greeted by local women in wool, pleated skirts, bright flowered blouses,  and black shawls with brilliant embroidered flowers who were there to take us to their homes for the night.  One industrious woman even had her hand-drop spindle in hand to make use of the spare moments. (Having previously done some spinning myself, I was impressed by her skill).  

As I had discussed in my Crossing the Andes post, I had decided to take medicine to prevent altitude sickness.  While I did not feel ill as we climbed the hills above the highest navigable lake in the world, my sea-level lungs were really pumping to find some more oxygen at over 12,500 ft.  Several of us took the walk up to the houses rather slowly.  Fortunately, they had placed some stone "mosaics" in the path to make it more interesting to look down.  There are no paved roads or cars or bikes on Amantani.   It is also called the Island of Kantuta, a reddish trumpet flower that is the national flower of Peru and Bolivia, connected (of course)with Inca legends.

Our boat group was divided among several families, but the 5 of us were able to stay together in the home of Isadore and Alfredo, a gracious older couple.  Fortunately, our guide Ruben was a good friend and stayed with them as well, communicating with them in their native Quechua language.  I think "Azezhenki" was "Hello" and "Waliki" meant "I'm fine," but I couldn't figure out where to insert them in a conversation.  The couple graciously accepted our food gifts from the mainland (rice, sugar, etc. that are expensive to have shipped here), and served us a hearty, delicious warm barley vegetable soup with local cheese and bread.  It absolutely hit the spot after a morning at sea.

The rooms in their home were arranged around a courtyard where they kept their tools and a big batch of tuber potatoes that looked more like carrots.  Their quarters and the dining space were downstairs while the guest bedrooms were up steep stairs.  I never understood why the relatively short Incas and Peruvians would create staircases with such tall steps!  The guidebooks all said to expect no electricity or running water, but I think it must have been some time since those authors stayed on the island.  At least in our town (never learned its name), the community uses solar power to give the homes power to use electric lights, but there are no electric appliances or outlets.  Being wintertime, it was nice having electric lights in our rooms when it was dark.

Our house shared a communal courtyard with about 5 houses that had 2 flushing toilets, cold water faucets and a cold shower.  It was there we met Isadore and Alfredo's daughter Gladys and their darling grandchildren, Franklin and Leah.  Franklin (about 9 years old) was eager to use the English he was learning in school (quite good) and to show off his math skills with English answers.  He actually ended  up as our translator and guide for much of that afternoon and evening.

The guidebooks recommended a hike to the Inca ruins at the top of the island for the sunset and then indicated that in the evening, the hosts might have us try on some of their embroidered clothing and teach us their dances.  Again, this was not our experience.  Some of our group found the initial climb challenging, and only Jan went on the hike to the top of the island.  However, as the winter dusk was settling in before they got to the top, she decided to head back down the uneven trail and steps before sunset so that she didn't have to do it in the dark.

While the other tourists were hiking the trail, I had one of the most delightful evenings of the entire trip.  It was the final night of a several-day festival for the local folk.  Isadore and Franklin took me and two others of our group to the little town plaza surrounded by the church and a few town buildings.  The plaza was filled with stalls of lovely handicrafts and locals dressed in their finest.

They were dancing and visiting and just enjoying themselves.  It was such an authentic experience.  Only the vendors paid much attention to the dozen or so tourists that showed up.  The temperature became much colder as the sun started to go down, and I was delighted to replace my old hat and pair of gloves for much warmer and softer alpaca mittens and cap.

But my very, very favorite part was a little girl (3-4  years old) dressed in her green wool pleated shirt and a black embroidered shawl whose constant companion was a young lamb.  Just like in the English nursery rhyme, everywhere this child went, "her lamb was sure to go."  It ran after her across the plaza like a pet dog and never left her side.  OK--I got carried away taking pictures, but it was the sweetest moment.  There was a beautiful sunset, even if we weren't at the top of the island.  As night settled in, we had a filling dinner with another delicious soup, baked vegetables, cheeses, and Munoz herbal tea.  A satisfying end to  a fascinating day.

But our adventures were not yet over.  While I had packed my trusty bright flashlight in my little overnight bag, I had left behind the extra batteries.  So, of course, my batteries gave out.  Teddie and I shared her flashlight for our last trip to the courtyard toilets for the night.  While waiting for a turn,  a cold wind started to blow, and a sudden rain/hail storm moved in as we hurried back to our house and up the outdoor stairs to our frigid room.  We had an electric light, but alas, no heat.  We slept in all our clothes (without shoes) under some very thick blankets.  Teddie had brought some of those metallic emergency blankets which we also spread on top to stay warm.

It was hard to emerge from our warm nest into the cold room in the morning, but the storm had passed, and it was another beautiful sunny day.  After a tasty breakfast with fried "doughnut" bread, we bade farewell to our hosts and started down the hill, watching men already carrying loads of goods from boats up the steep hills to the town.  In less than 24 hours, Isla Amantani had become one of my favorite places in Peru.

When I returned to the States, I was surprised to find in my Whole Foods grocery store, a wild rice/ quinoa blend made by Seeds of Change called Amantani.  The whole grain blend did capture the flavors of the region, and I liked the description on the package:  "upon Lake Titicaca, you'll find the namesake of the product you hold in your hands: a charming little island called Amantani.  It's in this enchanting region that we found the inspiration for red, black, and white quinoa for our Amantani blend."  Life isn't easy on Amantani, but they have made it beautiful.

Clink link below for slideshow:
Amantani

Music:  Peruvian Harp and Flute Ensemble,  Titicaca, The Andes--20 Harp and Flute Favorites
Additional Information: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amantan%C3%AD

Floating on the Floating Uros Islands of Lake Titicaca, Peru

August 2011

I came to the shores of Lake Titicaca with lots of questions: Why would anyone want to live on an island on the highest navigable lake in the world?  Do the floating islands ever sink or float away?  How do you cook and wash and keep warm on an island of reeds?  Can you grow crops?  What does the "ground" feel like? Does the lake freeze in winter? If this is the highest "navigable" lake, what is the truly highest lake in the world?  etc.   I didn't get all the answers, but will share what I learned.

We spent a chilly winter night (other side of the equator)  in Puno (3,827 meters or over 12,500 ft above sea level), the official capital of Peru's Altiplano Basin and unofficial folklore center, known for its handicrafts, dances, costumes, legends, and fiestas.  Particularly notable is their summer Fiesta of the Virgin of the Candelaria on February 2  which celebrates the reported appearance of the Virgin May to nearby miners.  There can be up to 5,000 musicians and dancers in colorful ethnic costumes.   Under the Spanish, Puno was one of the wealthiest cities on the continent due to its proximity to the very prosperous Laykakota silver mines.  There were volatile disputes during those mining days, and even as we were planning our trip, there were concerns about whether we could stay here due to heated political disputes.  However, those were resolved, and Puno was quiet and nearly deserted on our winter evening.

As we were scheduled to spend the next night on the island Amantani, we packed a small overnight bag and joined a group of about 12 others in the morning for our boating adventure.  As we drove to the docks, we passed a busy street market before entering the inevitable long row of tourist/souvenir shops.  Our motorized boat had comfortable seating, large windows, a viewing deck on top, and a very bright floral carpet on the ceiling of the cabin.

Our boat soon ventured onto the largest lake in South America (8,000+ sq. km or 3,100 sq miles) with an average depth of 107 meters (351 ft).  The lake is a shared border between Peru (60%) and Bolivia (40%), and it is possible to see the Bolivian coast from the taller islands.  While the lake is cold, it does not freeze, and some claim that a fresh-water version of the bull shark can be found in the depths of this lake that is fed by and was probably formed by glaciers (how did sharks get there??).

It was a gorgeous day on  Lake Titicaca--bright blue skies; fluffy white clouds; crystal turquoise-blue sea; moderate winds; bright warming sunshine.   I can understand why the Incas considered this a sacred lake and believed that it was here that the sun god's children sprang from its cold waters and went to Cusco to begin the Inca dynasty.  But there were other ethnic groups living on the lake before the Incas. The Uros people also have legends of coming from a divine race.  It is thought they developed the floating reed islands for defensive purposes, far enough off shore that rivals,  Incas, and later Spanish cavaliers would find it difficult to bring their armies against them.  Sadly, it is reported that many of the Uros descendants  died or went to the mainland in the past century before tourism provided an added means of monetary and cultural support.  My poor Spanish was  not so noticeable, as they speak Aymara which I didn't know at all--and a little tourist English.

Before reaching the man-made "artificial" Uros islands, we moved through water channels with natural reed and marshy mini-islands populated by ducks, birds, and even some small pigs and chickens (how did they get there?).  As fish, ducks, and birds are an important part of the islanders' diet, we passed several small boats  of hunters and fishermen that morning.  But the real support (literally) for these islanders is the tortora reed.

We were told there is a population of around 2,00 that live on the 40+ floating islands.  The bases of the islands vary in depths of 2-5 meters of soil (depending of the island's age and care), held together by the roots of the tortora reed and topped with layers of cut reeds.  The layer needs to be constantly renewed, as the reeds dry and break in sunny weather and rot in rain.   There is no dirt for the cultivation of crops.  Each island supports a family grouping, but they have a communal governance and rotate the presidency among the islands.  There are different religious groups as well--Catholics, Protestant, and Mormon (LDS)--but they all seem to get along.  (See article about LDS members http://lds.org/liahona/2011/07/islands-of-faith-a-story-of-diligence?lang=eng&query=lds+lake+titicaca,+peru)

The tortora reed is used to make their houses, watch towers, and boats and is also part of their diet.  The surface of the islands was sort of spongy to walk on  which was particularly difficult for Dale with his crutches.  However, the islands seem securely set where they were (not too far from shore), and there didn't seem to be a likelihood that one might float away to another part of the lake in the middle of the night.

When we arrived on our designated island, we were shown how they cut and use the tortora and invited into their small homes.  Cooking is done outside with a portable pot, and the insides are simply furnished.  The young man who showed me his hut said they keep warm enough in winter with their blankets and sweaters.  However, he had added some modern touches.  With his solar panel, he gets enough electricity to power a battery that runs a small tv!  But I didn't see any ipads yet.

The people were gracious, and the children were delighted to entertain us with songs they had learned in school from different nationalities (with a request for donations).  They also had some lovely handicrafts--especially the stitched and pieced  hangings and tortora reed souvenirs.  I got a small boat mobile.  Then they took us in their reed boat to another floating island where we caught our motorized boat to head toward the rocky island of Amantini (next post).

So what is the really highest lake in the world?  According to google sources, it is a bit further south on the side of the highest active volcano in the world on the border of Chile and Argentina.  However, some consider Ojos del Salado  at 6,390 meters (20,965 ft.) a pool and not a proper lake,  as it is only 100 meters or about 300 ft. in diameter.  If one counts these high unnavigable "pools," Lake Titicaca is only the 35th highest body of water.  But who would want to go around in circles in a pool when one could spend days navigating Lake Titicaca?

Click link below for slideshow:
The Floating Islands of Lake Titicaca
Music:  Alpa, Flor De Un Dia, Machu Picchu
Further Information:
Insight Guides: Peru
The Essential Book: Discovering Peru
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Titicaca